Dagmar Krech, First Female German Riding Master, Passed Away

Dressage

Germany

Dagmar Krech, Germany's first female to receive the title of Riding Master, has passed away on 24 January 2021. She was 90 years old.

St.Georg reported upon the passing of this dressage professional who wrote history for Germany.

Scarred by War

Dagmar was a horse person in and out and still rode until late in her 80s. She was known for her smile, even though she had a hard life at the start.

In World World II she lost two of three sisters and in 1945 the family and their Trakehner horses were driven out of their home in Oberschlesien, which had served as a station in the forest for cavalry riders. They were intercepted by Russian soldiers, which stole the horses.

Although there were no possessions left, Dagmar knew a life with horses would be hers, robbed from a normal childhood due to the war.

Riding Master

She relocated to Gut Ising at Lake Chiemsee in 1958, where she initially rode jumper horses.

She did her rider's test with legendary trainer Paul Stecken in 1963, from whom she learnt the principles of classical dressage and riding.

Because she was able to develop such a large group of well developed riders, so was rewarded with the Riding Master title in 1992. That year was also the last she competed herself.

Krech was nine-time Bavarian Regional Champion.

Cognac - Granat

As an auction rider, she received the ride on a very difficult Holsteiner gelding, named Cognac. He became a top auction horse and the local TV station asked her to ride him in the park for programme. Cognac was so unruly as a youngster that she swapped him with policy horse Figaro and hoped the tv-crew wouldn't notice that she wasn't riding Cognac.

Cognac had sold as a weanling to „Gut Ising“ in Bavaria and as a 3-year old was offered for sale by his rearer Fürst Magalow at the Bavarian auction, then located in Landshut. He found new owners from Italy. But Cognac never went there as he got a cold shortly after the auction and the buyers refused to take him anymore in that condition.

Cognac sold as a young horse to George Wahl and Christine Stuckelberger and was renamed Granat. He became the 1976 Olympic Champion

Independent

As of 1977 she was based at Gestüt Mooswiese in Neumarkt, Germany.

In 1997 she moved in with her sister in Gaggenau-Winkel, Baden-Baden, bringing along her two retired horses Papillon and Momo. She still taught lessons

Only at the beginning of 2020, at age 89, she moved into a care home, but one where she retained her full independence.